Foreign Ministry Reveals Joint Russia-US Plans to Liberate Raqqa

Russia and the US will discuss specific military steps for the capture of Raqqa — the "capital" of the "Islamic State". This was stated by the Deputy Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oleg Syromolotov in an interview to"Interfax".

"Specific aspects of such cooperation, including taking into account the withdrawal of our contingent, are being discussed between our military and the Pentagon", — he said. Syromolotov said that Washington have become "enlightened", and the US government is aware of the need not only to exchange information about military operations, but to actually coordinate their actions in the fight against terrorism.

He recalled that the idea to coordinate efforts for the liberation of the "capital" of the self-proclaimed Caliphate was proposed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov. "We attach great importance to dense dialogue between Moscow and Washington on the Syrian issue", — summed up Syromolotov.

Banned in Russia as a terrorist organization, "Islamic State", in the summer of 2014, seized parts of the territory of Iraq and Syria and proclaimed a Caliphate. The informal Syrian "capital" of ISIS is considered Raqqa, and in Iraq — Mosul.